16 Months Old, doesn't say or recognize any words

Looking for some reassurance here.My 16 month old son cannot say a word, nor does he respond to any words. He doesn't even seem to know his name.On his pediatrician's advice we've had him evaluated by the state child development services. They graded him on a number of different scales, and he was around average for everything (fine motor skills, problem solving, etc) except for Communication Skills, where he had the lowest possible grade. They did tell us that they had zero concerns about autism, because his eyes and body language proved him to be very engaged and responsive. So he's good at everything except this one thing, the recognition and use of words.Next step is a hearing test, but to us his hearing seems to be fine. He responds to familiar speaking tones and cadences (eg scolding, or "where's baby?" games) appropriately. But the actual words don't mean anything to him, from what we can tell.He can make a "meow" sound and a "roar" sound. So that's something. He babbles.The CDS has recommended early intervention. This doesn't seem to be a very intensive course of action ... mostly just training us, the parents, on how best to engage with and encourage him. Maybe some baby sign language. Nothing too ambitious. Mostly just keep at it and hope for the best.Has anyone else gone through this? via /r/Parenting http://ift.tt/29avgIb